A new dolphin-like species that lived around 170 million years ago has been identified from fossils found on the Isle of Skye off Scotland.
The 14-feet long marine creature has been named Dearcmhara shawcrossi in honour of an amateur enthusiast, Brian Shawcross, who recovered the creature’s fossils from the island’s Bearreraig Bay in 1959.
It is a member of a group called ichthyosaurs that were among the dominant marine reptiles when dinosaurs ruled the land.
“The dolphin-like creatures were as long as 14 feet from snout to tail, and inhabited warm, shallow seas around Scotland during the Jurassic Period,” Scientist reported.
Dearcmhara, a moderate-sized ichthyosaur, swam in warm, shallow seas during the Jurassic Period, preyed on fish and other reptiles. —PTI
